Soundside

The Seattle School Board is extending the search for a new superintendent, past the original deadline to hire someone by the fall. That means the district will not have a permanent leader when its roughly 50,000 students come back in the fall.  We review why the school board wants more time for the search, and what that delay means for students, teachers and parents.  Editor's Note: KUOW incorrectly stated that former Seattle School Board director Vivian Song represented District 2. She represented District 4. Additionally, Song claims the district failed to file for a special election, which could’ve allowed her to continue legally serving. (The district refused to comment on the issue of her residency and whether it failed to file for a special election.) Guest Sami West, online editor/reporter, KUOW Links When will Seattle Public Schools get its next superintendent? Not this fall - KUOW Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, well-known labor organizer Alfredo Juarez Zeferino – nicknamed Lelo – announced he would “voluntarily depart” after being held for months in Tacoma’s ICE processing center. KUOW Race, Identity, and Immigration Reporter Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez was there when Zeferino’s lawyer told supporters outside the ICE facility what Lelo had decided. Guest: KUOW Race, Identity, and Immigration Reporter Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez Related stories: WA farm labor organizer ends his deportation fight after 4 months in ICE detention - KUOW Union farmworker organizer 'Lelo' denied bond to leave Tacoma ICE lockup - KUOW Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All this week, Soundside is interviewing the most competitive candidates for Seattle Mayor ahead of the August 5th primary election. Today, we hear from Joe Mallahan, a former T Mobile executive and candidate for mayor in 2009.  Guest: Joe Mallahan, candidate for Seattle Mayor Links: Sound Politics: Bruce Harrell vs. Everyone Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The war in Ukraine is causing tremendous and likely lasting psychological damage to generations of its young people. One of those traumas is caused by what’s tantamount to kidnapping by the Russian government. According to a new report by the think tank GlobSec, there have been nearly 20,000 (19,546) cases of what it calls “forcibly transferred or deported children.” These children are taken from their homes and placed in camps or with Russian families. I’m talking with two people who are associated with the report:    Eric Trupin is a psychologist and a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He wrote the forward for the report, which is titled “Stolen Generations: a systemic violation of Ukraine’s Future.”  For the last two years, Dr. Trupin also trained mental health providers in Ukraine in how to use poetry and other techniques to help young people process emotions and cope with intense trauma.  It’s a project that was created originally as a way to help rehabilitate young incarcerated people in Seattle. Guest: Eric Trupin is a psychologist and a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine Iuliia Osmolovska is Head of the GLOBSEC Kyiv Office Related stories: Stolen Generation a Systematic Violation of Ukraine’s Future - Globsec Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes. Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All this week, Soundside is interviewing the most competitive candidates for Seattle Mayor ahead of the August 5th primary election. Today, we hear from Katie Wilson, the co-founder and executive director of the Transit Rider's Union.  Guest: Katie Wilson, candidate for Seattle Mayor Links: Sound Politics: Bruce Harrell vs. Everyone Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All this week, Soundside is interviewing the most competitive candidates for Seattle Mayor ahead of the August 5th primary election. Today, we hear from current Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.  Guest: Bruce Harrell, Mayor of Seattle Links: Sound Politics: Bruce Harrell vs. Everyone   Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All this week, Soundside is interviewing the most competitive candidates for Seattle mayor ahead of the August 5th primary election. Today, we hear from Ry Armstrong, an actor, union chair, and co-director of the non-profit of Seattle.  Guest: Ry Armstrong, candidate for Seattle Mayor Links: Sound Politics: Bruce Harrell vs. Everyone Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local and national organizations alike are still absorbing the historic implications of the Republican tax and spending law known as the One Big, Beautiful Bill. President Trump signed the legislation on July 4th. The law makes the Trump tax cuts of 2017 permanent, and increases spending on border security and energy production, among many other measures. It also includes significant cuts to government assistance programs, like SNAP and Medicaid.  Soundside reached out to several local leaders to ask how the One Big Beautiful Bill will affect their work.  Guests: Gloria Hatcher-Mays, executive director of the Rainier Valley Food Bank Malou Chávez, executive director of Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Bob Ferguson, Washington governor  Jacqueline Barton True, vice president of advocacy and rural health for the Washington State Hospital Association Cathy Bambrick, administrator for Astria Toppenish Hospital Related stories: Potential for 'pretty dire consequences' for WA health care due to Trump's budget bill - Kitsap Sun  WA officials warn ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ will wreak havoc on Medicaid system - Tacoma News Tribune Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes. Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might have noticed that Mount Rainier’s been looking a little…. Bald lately.  People on social media have been posting about how Washington’s favorite sight looks less snowy than usual. Some of them are saying they’ve never seen the mountain look this bare in their lives.  Rainier definitely sheds some snow in the warmer months. And Washington has been getting hit with some pretty serious heat lately.  Many of us know that climate change is a thing, so how much of that is playing into the mountain’s sleek peak? (Basically, how much dread should we be feeling about this?)  Soundside asked a glaciologist to explain what's happening up there.  Guest: Dr. Mauri Pelto, director of the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project.  Related stories:  The mountain is out: Mount Rainier shows rocky face after record-breaking heat, snow melt - seattlepi.com Mount Rainier’s glaciers are disappearing. What happens when they’re gone? - Tacoma News Tribune Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes. Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine a cartoon show where the characters talk back to you. That's the premise for "Cartoon Mess Live", a live comedy show by Seattleite Tom DesLongchamp.  DesLongchamp is basically a puppeteer, doing improv alongside a cohost named Duck. It’s like if you could see the person operating Elmo, and the pair of them had a late night talk show. But also Elmo is a 2-dimensional cartoon. DesLongchamp sat down with Soundside host Libby Denkmann to discuss his show, and why it's so hard to describe. Guest: Tom DesLongchamp, creator of "Cartoon Mess Live" Related links: Cartoon Mess Live at The Rabbit Box Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.